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12 Days of Something II: 12 Moments of Anime

So this 12 Days thing is running near a close, so I thought I would actually do something most people do with this sort of topic, actually write about 12 moments in anime that occurred this year. I know, really original, right? So I’ll try to avoid some stuff I’ve gone on-and-on about over the course of this series of posts and limit myself to one thing per month. Can I pull it off? Find out below.

1. And we’re back…(Nisemonogatari Episode 1)

It’s quite hard to believe this was almost a year ago now. The first episode of Nisemonogatari pretty much left off where Bakemonogatari had left off. Hitagi in firm control over Koyomi in a rather awkward situation oozing with sexual tension as always. And then, Tsukihi appeared after the opening, and we really should have known what was up at that point.

2. Suspicious activity in the back of the bus (Amagami SS+plus Episode 7)

Kaoru and Junichi always had something different about them as a pairing in Amagami SS. Maybe it’s the fact that they were friends for a number of years, or perhaps more likely for this particular incident, they had little awareness of their surroundings as they went about having fun. That’s one thing when you are friends (or bad ones as Kaoru said in the first season), but an entirely different thing once everyone knows you are lovers. However, there’s still something exciting about that lack of self-awareness as the people on the bus in this episode found out.

3. Issei Takes One Hell of a Beating (High School DxD Episode 11)

For the standard perverted action series, High School DxD followed the familiar formula. The main character Issei, was weak in the beginning and learned new powers after dying to put toward building a harem. So by the time episode 11 came around, Issei was pretty powerful. He could blow mountains up, but his preferred attacks involved shredding clothes off of women. Like I said, fairly standard for the genre. But by the time this episode came and went, Issei had taken an absolute beating trying to save Rias. I actually felt empathy for bland harem lead for once. While it did create a potential NTR scenario, the writers decided to just have Issei become OP the next week.

As Fujiko was on another one of her sexy thief missions, she hid as a teacher escorting a group of children. Among them was a boy who was captivated by a piece of Japanese art depicting a samurai. As children ultimately do sometimes, he got overly enthusiastic about samurai and wanting one as his friend. So what happens when he first encounters one? He runs into Goemon getting ice cream on him. That Goemon would end up as naive as the young boy minutes later when meeting Fujiko just made this all the better.

Kirie’s character in Amnesia had been built up as impenetrable. The cool girl who served to keep those around her in their place. Then came this episode, where that facade came tumbling down repeatedly as Momoe took her on all sorts of fun adventures during the school’s cultural festival. By the end, she was scouted by other students who wanted her for their cafe. Being completely unable to act as the younger sister character with cat ears made her more appealing to her classmates than ever before.

6. Time Paradox (Natsuiro Kiseki Episode 10)

Natsuiro Kiseki was a bit of a strange show. Lawson pretty much paid for the show with the amount of product placement that was placed in the show. Also, the dream for the cast to become idols as they spent their last summer together did well in making the strange events that happened to them feel good. In this particular episode, the girls meet their former selves as their wish transports them back to when they were kids. Usually, shows try to avoid the time paradox thing, but like Basil Exposition said in the 2nd Austin Powers movie, try not to think about it.

7. The Serious Part of an Episode With Bullying (Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate Episode 4)

This episode was infamous for something entirely different related to Isara. Koichoco did at least attempt to try to portray how difficult life would be for the second class citizens of its particular school. For a while I actually thought it would become something admirable about this show. But like most elections, admiration disappeared as the campaign became about pragmatism and the show felt the need to become ridiculous.

8. Deciphering the Feelings of Others Over Snacks (Rinne no Lagrange Episode 18)

Before Lagrange became droppably bad, the Yurikano arc proved to be quite a revelation despite a number of factors. In this particular episode, after Madoka and Yurikano had switched bodies, Madoka now found herself in a pod being sent toward La Garite. With little food and anything to really do for entertainment, she ate what little food was left while thinking about Yurikano. Then, publicly announced her feelings to everyone in the middle of the battle waging outside.

9. Mutta Rides a Lawnmower (Space Brothers Episode 24)

A lot of the complaints about this show can be summed up by an episode featuring the main character in a show about space driving a lawnmower. To put it another way, there’s a lot of brothers before the space.

Aiko’s story in this third episode says a lot for the use of sex in Sukitte. For Yamato and Aiko, their experience had entirely different meanings. For him, it was a way of affirming friendship and in her case it was seeking comfort in wanting to be desired by someone, anyone. Yamato was in a weak spot, unable to turn anyone down after feeling upset over the treatment of Kai. In guilt, Aiko threw herself into trying to be Yamato’s ideal woman. It was a bad thing to do. In contrast, the platonic relationship with Yamato and Mei has meaning to everyone because it makes it feel like it has a solid foundation.

11. A Daughter Revives Her Father’s Work (Psycho-Pass Episode 7)

After a lengthy discussion about art prior to the Psycho-Pass system, it became clear what Rikako’s motivation was. Her father had created art of brutal images of women to try to reinforce common sense and morality in society. After the Psycho-Pass system came in, his art and reason to live disappeared. Rikako, with her brutal acts that defied societal morality created brutal images of women so that her father could live again in the minds of the others. The disturbing tribute that would have undoubtedly been hated by her father.

12. That Painful Realization That I Work for a Madman (Jormungand: Perfect Order Episode 10)

Jonah had spent a lot of time with Koko in thinking that she was different from all of the other arms dealers out there. Her brother had taken care of his old friends, she and the rest of the gang had taken care of group after group who had become drunk on the power that came with being in the arms trade and everything seemed good. Yet Jonah couldn’t get close to her because there was always that secret he felt was being held back from him. And so when the moment comes, 700 thousand lives for world peace, Jonah finds himself standing alone against the one who brought him along.

4 thoughts on “12 Days of Something II: 12 Moments of Anime”

Aah Nisemonogatari…One of the disappointments of the year for me. Might have stood well on its own, but after Bake, it was underwhelming stuff. Speaking of which, I believe a new Monogatari series is going to start sometime in the next week or so?

Kaoru and Junichi were cute together and had a kind of ‘real’ feel to them as a couple that I thought was missing from some of the others.